Dynamic, female-led theatre company Scissor Kick is bringing ‘Shrill’, a collaborative clown cabaret performance to Glasgow between August 8 and 10, as well as on August 13 at 7:30pm. Guests will witness a deeply engaging, immersive experience taking place at Revolution Glasgow.
Shrill aims to serve as a “theatrical response to the silencing and belittling of female and femme voices across time and place”. While a feminist clown cabaret is not the most obvious combination we’d think of, the production explores the story of three sirens who meet at the edge of the world. The trio doesn’t know it yet, but this is the beginning of the end.
Shrill is inspired by multiple theatrical forms such as clown, bouffon and cabaret, seeking to highlight societal injustices as well as satirising the rich and powerful. The show also reimagined myths and fairytales, like Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ and the ‘Sirens’ from Homer’s ‘Odyssey’. Shrill places the historic voices of women in a contemporary setting, striving to be intersectionally feminist with its message.
Writer Amy Conway said: “We’ve all been affected by the pandemic in countless ways and Shrill could have been a casualty – many shows in various stages of development had to be abandoned altogether because they lost momentum or lessened in relevance after 2+ years on hold. But Shrill stayed in my consciousness and as the world changed, rather than diminished, it only grew in urgency.”
“The idea was first conceived at the height of the #MeToo movement, but since then we’ve seen Roe Vs. Wade overturned, Black and Trans voices demand to be heard, and the right to protest in the UK fundamentally threatened. This new context is an even more fertile ground for the themes of Shrill, for us to take on more radical performance practices and creative processes. Shrill has a brilliant team of collaborators, all of whom feel like radical makers in their field, and I’m so excited to create with them and share that with Glasgow audiences.”
The tickets are £15, and you can book them online.